Soft economic conditions have prompted many companies to swap out previously devised growth strategies for more conservative “stay afloat” plans. This is not the case for XPO, which credits its high-quality service for its continued growth in a constrained environment.
XPO has long been characterized by its commitment to standout service, but Marissa Christensen, vice president of field sales at XPO, noted that these efforts have come to the forefront since the company became a stand-alone LTL provider in North America last November.
“Service and quality matter most to our customers,” Christensen said. “We, as an organization, have been narrowly focused on improving that.”
The strategy seems to be working. In conversation with FreightWaves Assistant Producer Isaiah Buchanan, Christensen pointed to evidence of its effectiveness across several different aspects of the business, from the significant decline in damage claims ratio and increase in on-time performance to the growth of its customer base.
“We’re winning new business. We’re bringing back old customers, and we’re expanding our share of wallet with existing accounts,” Christensen said. “To me, there is no better testament to the success of what we are doing than our ability to grow market share with a current customer.”
Onboarding and operational improvements
XPO has worked hard to create a customer experience that exceeds expectations throughout the entire shipping cycle – from onboarding to delivery, and everything in between.
“The onboarding experience involves a number of different departments within our organization,” Christensen said. “That is where we leverage our technology and our scalability in order to bring that to the marketplace and satisfy the customer.”
In addition to prioritizing its onboarding experience, XPO has invested in a number of operational improvements, including fleet maintenance and the introduction of the SafeStack system and cargo airbags to ensure each shipment that moves through its network is protected from damage.
Intentional growth strategies
XPO is continuing to expand its physical footprint to meet customer demand.
The company has added more than 500 net new doors to its service centers nationwide since the end of 2021, with the intention of adding a total of 900 net new doors by early 2024. Additionally, it has added 2,000 new tractors and 8,000 new trailers — hailing from its in-house trailer manufacturing facility in Searcy, Arkansas — in the same time frame.
“We are not just growing for the sake of growing,” Christensen said. “We are taking a very targeted approach in conjunction with feedback from our customers and where the marketplace is demanding expansion.”
Much of the company’s growth has been concentrated in areas of rapid demand growth, including Salt Lake City and Garland, Texas.
Strong connections with customers
To ensure continuous improvements in service, XPO is focused on staying closely connected with customers.
“We’re in regular communication with our customers to understand how we can be a better partner to them,” Christensen said. “Some of our most successful ideas come directly from our customers. We’re very agile to act on this feedback, be it a new technology solution or a service offering.”